BCB/Ricky Moore and Sons U11 tournament: RHT Poonai Pharmacy claims historic title after defeating Albion

The Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy under-11 cricket team, under the inspirational leadership of Darvish Narain, created history in Berbice cricket when they won the first ever under-11 cricket tournament, sponsored by Ricky Moore and Sons enterprise.
The match was played at the Chesney cricket ground, and Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy was spearheaded by a brilliant all-round performance from Akeem Fraser. The two teams have played each other twice before in the said tournament, and Albion had won both matches.
Rose Hall Town won the toss in extremely hot conditions and elected to bat first. They lost opener Julian Hicks, bowled by Gajnabi for one in the 1st over of the final. The other opener, Dilchan La Cruz, and skipper Darvish Narain added 20 for the 2nd wicket before La Cruz was run out for 10.
The highly talented Akeem Fraser batted with maturity beyond his age, and ended unbeaten on 35 with four boundaries, as the Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy ended their innings on 130 for 6 off their allotted 20 overs.
Skipper Narain supported with 16, while extras contributed a healthy 56 runs. Wides bowled in the first 15 overs resulted in two runs for the batting side, while the ball is not bowled back. Albion’s best bowler was their captain Shahid Gajnabi, who took three for 18 from his four overs of pace.

Needing to score 131 of their allotted 20 overs, Albion were giving a solid start of 31 by openers Nicholas Madramootoo and Daniel Johnson, before Madramootoo was caught off the bowling of left-arm spinner Khemraj Bharrat for 3.
Johnson was also dismissed for 11, to leave Albion at 38 for two in the 6th over. Rose Hall Town Poonai Pharmacy’s confidence was lifted when the dangerous Shahid Gajnabi, younger brother of West Indies player Shabeka Gajnabi, was caught off the bowling of his opposite number, Dharvish Narain, for 12.
Albion slumped to 61 for 6 in the 11th over, before Royston Crandon Junior and Ganesh Shivdyal added 30 crucial runs for the 7th wicket to bring Albion back into contention. Ganesh was run out for 10 when the score was at 91 for seven, and Albion were eventually bowed out for 120 of 18.4 overs.
Akeem Fraser took the final wicket to spark celebration by the Rose Hall Town team and their supporters. Bowling for the Champions, Khemraj Bharrat took 3 for 15, Darvish Narain took 2 for 17, Akeem Fraser took 2 for 6, and Joshua Dhanraj took 2 for 11. Fraser was named “man of the final” for his crucial innings of 35 not out and the two wickets he took.
Chairman of the BCB Cricket Competition Committee, Leslie Salomon, hailed the success of the tournament, which unearthed several exciting talents for the future.
Solomon also expressed thanks to Ricky Moore for his sponsorship of the under-11 tournament. He said the BCB was also looking to host an under-9 tournament in 2024 as part of its overall developmental programme.